I honestly don't have a problem w/ it. I think it's ultimately a smart move by Blizz. Mobile games cost less to make than a big budget PC/console game and are INSANE revenue streams...if done properly.

As a fan? I suppose I'd play it if my phone wasn't a POS. But in regards to the direction of the franchise? I mean, Diablo will always be my favorite franchise, but I know I personally will never get the feeling of LoD again. And not due to Blizzard's fault or anything. But just the change of the gaming climate, my hobby lifestyle, etc, an accomplishment like LoD just won't happen, imo.

I think they could've come close in D4 if they blended the great things about D3 (pace, skills, followers, mogs, etc) w/ everything else about D2 (infinitely better itemization system, player economy, public list of games, etc). But I wasn't expecting that. That type of game just doesn't fit in today's market. And my passion for wanting to sink in hours for hacknslash just isn't what it used to be.

But honestly, I'm glad for Blizz and glad for Diablo as a franchise. They're basically nominating it to be their forerunner, their martyr, in what could be their new direction as a company that could turn out to be extremely successful. Just not for Diablo. The franchise is likely dead after this, or at least an afterthought to any relevant moves by Blizz, as the tealeaves have already been showing.

But, I honestly do believe there is value in martyrdom. 20 years from now when the next generation is playing a buncha Blizz games on their phones, they'll research back and say "oh, Diablo was the first mobile exclusive Blizz game? That's pretty cool."

It's over. After this fiasko I'm not even sure I want them to make a D4 anymore, because everything tells me that they are completely out of touch with their fans and have not the slightest idea what we actually want from a Diablo game.

Think about the potential revenue streams though. Micro transactions, maybe an auction house and possibly even loot boxes. This is what they are seeing. Revenue. I want to give it a chance to see how it's reviewed once released. People will buy it. Some of the same people who are complaining now will buy it. I'll wait to hear what they say about it once released.

They made a good quip counter when they asked the crowd "you all have phones, right?" The accessibility is HUGE. The price point will likely be $5 at most, probably even free. And on a device that everyone has and plenty enjoy using for games. It's a smart move overall.

Brevik made a good point tho, that I kinda thought of already, but perhaps didn't realize how relevant it was - Netease being the developer. I don't doubt it'll be a good game and Blizz will likely still have input. But yes, it is very un-Blizz like to outsource their franchises, especially when it's a pioneering attempt at something.

First and foremost, I'll start off by saying it could have been executed better. Many people took time off to fly all the way out to Blizzcon, and many of whom invested thousands into a gaming PC. To finish their night with a mobile announcement is to be expected with backlash. That said, there is another Diablo project in the works, Blizzard has in the ballpark of 20 job openings for the next "proper" release. They should have announced Immortal with the switch port and instead talked about the job openings.

Wyatt Cheng clearly wasn't comfortable making the pitch, and I feel bad for him. But to say "you all have phones right?" clearly shows a negligence to the issue. That's like with Diablo 3 being online-only and then saying "you all have internet right?". Well yeah, the majority of us do, but that isn't the point. Phones are great for communication, and it happens the tech is good enough they can play high end games. But does that mean they should be used for that purpose?

Let me back up to 2006 for a second. The only way I could play D2 was on the family computer which was hogged all the time, so I tried to get it on the PSP. I found a way to stream the game "wirelessly" onto the PSP, but quickly learned it was a pipe dream. In theory it sounds like a great idea, take D2 with you everywhere right? But you're limiting yourself to a 4" screen, and the controls are horrible, point-n-click with hotkeys is a must for these types of games.

Fast forward to 2017, I bit the bullet and went from a flip-phone to an expensive touch phone thinking "wow this will be so great for gaming, everyone else my age says so, so it must be true!". What a major letdown. Setting aside the marketing practice for mobile games, often filled with ads and micro-transactions, it was like playing D2 on the PSP all over again... only worse. The PSP at least had real, PHYSICAL buttons you could press. But phones? Everything has to be dumbed down and overly-simplified to be usable with one finger. The worst part is that the screen is already tiny, and your finger is constantly on top of it making things even less visible.

The mobile gaming industry is the epidemy of capitalist exploitation. I recall a few years ago a Hawaiian governor tried to pass a law banning micro-transactions in games sold to minors. He said something to the extent of "I remember when the gaming industry pushed the limits of technology, to how it grew from a nerds hobby to becoming mainstream, and ultimately how it became a tool to exploit the younger generation for profit". Mobile gaming as a whole has become extremely profitable, with the target audience being ages 6-20. The younger and more gullible will use their parent's credit card to pay for these in-game transactions. You can sure as hell bet Diablo Immortal WILL have them, because there's simply to much money to pass up.

To sum up, I just can't imagine any true gamers would keep their phone on the charger and spend 8 hours hovering over a 5 inch screen. If you're *that* bored on lunch break, maybe bring a book with you and READ or do something that doesn't rot your eyes. To me, with Blizzard outsourcing this, it clearly implies this entire thing is a pure cash grab. At the very least Diablo 3 was targeted at a traditional audience. But Diablo Immortal? Stay awhile 14-year-olds, and identify your items at $0.50 each.

Edit: also I'm not mad about this release in any way, as a matter of fact this has been very entertaining with all the memes, the guy who asked if was an april fools joke, etc. I hope Blizzard does it again next year! LMFAO

jk. Ok, so what is the issue then? Just that people (read: hardcore D fans) don't want to play on their phones? When Blizz sees mobile games raking in millions of dollars and Diablo basically being an afterthought to the general gaming community, that "issue" seems somewhat moot.

Sure they could've been more sensitive, been prepared, and pitched it better, assuming that the audience was full of hardcore D fans, inferring they were also hardcore PC players, therefore also inferring they don't like mobile games for some reason. But again, is the only issue just their lack of understanding their immediate audience? The boos may be heard from those ppl in the audience, but we'll see how ppl "boo" w/ their wallet when the game comes out. If DI is the revenue stream Blizz is hoping for, then the issue of them not understanding what hardcore D fans apparently want doesn't seem relevant. It's the truth, as sad or as painful as it sounds. It's not Blizz's prerogative to know how to please an existing small niche. It's Blizz's prerogative to have their product reach as many people as possible.

I mean, I really don't mean to sound like I'm pro-Blizz or insensitive to the fans' reactions. But this really isn't even a big deal outside of the Diablo world. I know a few ppl who sunk a lot of hours into Diablo 3 (tho I wouldn't call them Diablo fans, per se) and are just like "meh, seems cool" to the mobile announcement, not even really having strong opinions. I can't really fault Blizz for an oversight in how they thought the audience and "fans" would react. And I quote "fans" b/c I'm sure a lot of ppl who haven't touched Diablo in years are contributing to the complaining online. If you haven't played Diablo in years, why would Blizzard even think you'd care about this announcement and react in such a negative way?

To me, with Blizzard outsourcing this, it clearly implies this entire thing is a pure cash grab. At the very least Diablo 3 was targeted at a traditional audience. But Diablo Immortal? Stay awhile 14-year-olds, and identify your items at $0.50 each.

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Oh no doubt. I AM curious to see how deep the story and content to DI will be, see if there's some sort of substance or artistic depth to the game. Will it continue the D storyline or just be some generic sidenote story in D3?

They think free or cheap game on mobile can be monitized to Pluto and back via loot boxes. They've done it before, they see Fortnite/Clash Royale etc doing it. Remember the real-money auction house in D3? That's their focus. They see the opportunity of pay-to-winning the everloving snot out of it.

Yes, most of us have smartphones and yes we play mobile games. Quick and dirty games, not something with the history, depth of story and nuanced and varied playstyles of Diablo. Particularly Diablo 2 which I feel is far superior in build opportunities to Diablo 3. (rant on this subject deleted) Diablo isn't a card game. It isn't Seedship or RGB it's Diablo. Great graphics, the ability to drop in or min/max the life out of it. There's such a variety of playstyles there.

You can see companies deciding that the Eastern market is more important to them than the Western. NC Soft went out of it's way to close down Western focused games to pander to the Eastern market because they see more gamers there. I think this little fiasco is a continuation of that trend. Does China/Asia have a lot more mobile gamers than PC? Do they have a greater likelihood of buying into loot boxes? Bear in mind that a couple of countries in the EU have recently said that loot boxes = gambling = no no. I'm pretty sure that's going to be fascinating to see how that goes.

Let's not forget "E-Sports". I'm betting they'll try and hook that little sky-fairy into this too. "Hey you can make a living from this". Yeah and YouTube videos. A FEW do, the majority have to work for a living but it's easier to grab kids on mobile than PCs.

And looking at some reports (SidAlpha and Jim Sterling), it looks like this mobile game is nothing more than a reskim of a Diablo clone. Well that bodes ... even better.

So to recap, you have a clone of a game announced at the biggest convention of fans there is and when the reaction is negative, the people on stage make fun of their hard-core gamers. Now I may have been accused of a lack of tact from time to time, but even I can see that as a plan, that's akin to walking up to bear and trying to steal its dinner.

Unfortunately the days of giving a stuff what the consumer thinks is long gone. The idea of providing a good finished game doesn't cross their minds. (Let's all take a moment to laugh at Bethesda and their little Fallout 76 faux pas.) No, we are in the realms of how badly can we fleece our gamers.

I sincerely hope that they spend less time deleting the downvotes on their preview video and more time reading the comments on YouTube, Twitter and forums like these and remove their cranium from an orifice and decide to behave like sensible adults and provide a quality game to their core audience which exceeds the standards of the previous games.

@saint_of_killers You make it sound like the pc and console versions of D1 to D3 didn't sell well and so it's logical that they shift towards mobile. While obviously they actually sold really well.

Is it likely that this mobile game will earn them a lot of money? Yes. Is it wrong to do a mobile version of Diablo at some point? No. Is the timing and the way the annonced it wrong? Definitely yes. They just have to know that their core fan base exists of pc gamers. That those want something pc related. That those expect something like that on a major event like Blizzcon.

@saint_of_killers You make it sound like the pc and console versions of D1 to D3 didn't sell well and so it's logical that they shift towards mobile. While obviously they actually sold really well.

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Right, I'm aware, D3 set records. But buy-once sales aren't the same as a steady revenue stream. I call the D community "niche", b/c it is. Blizz games will always sell millions b/c the masses see a "Blizzard" stamp and are willing to pay to try it out. But how many players continued to play D3/RoS months after their respective releases? 20%? Years after release? 10%? 5%?

Blizzard hasn't a released a non-monetized game since 2010 (and even that game got monetized down the line). And when it attempted to with Diablo, there was major backlash. So they removed the monetization. And for what? The 10% of players who stuck around?

It's all about revenue stream now and the core Diablo community has shown in the past that they won't accept that. So yes, it IS logical to change to a platform that garners a community that IS willing to accept a monetized game. Activision Blizzard did make 4 BILLION of microtransactions in 2017 (how OW, WoW, Hstone, etc contributed? I'm not sure). A more microtransaction-friendly platform, like mobile, is much more desirable for a company like Blizz. They'll take the potential of making 100m's to even billions per year for X amount of years than just the safe $400m, $600m, whatever it'd be of single-purchase game sales.

Since D3, they stripped the franchise and now only a generic ARPG remains. Why even call it Diablo at this point? I'm sure more people would play it if it was just called Sanctuary.

I have no problem with mobile games though and I also believe it's the future, just not right now. Blizzard wants to be ahead of the other big companies in the mobile world and Diablo is the sacrifice of choice.

Problem is that we already have 100 other generic ARPGs on mobile and Immortal brings nothing new / innovative to the table that truly justifies "mobile". It's just for the money. There is absolutely no gameplay benefit for Diablo.

The main selling point which was its "dark" tone is gone since D3.

The complexity of itemization cannot be translated to a small screen / UI.

... But how many players continued to play D3/RoS months after their respective releases? 20%? Years after release? 10%? 5%?

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I'm not aware of (many) other games that get played by a lot of people months, and certainly not years after release, to be honest. So to call Diablo niche because of that? O yes, and if there is one platform that's certainly not known because of it's games being played for years and years, it's mobile ...

So over various uploads, the Diablo: Immortal videos on youtube have now surpassed 1 million dislikes, with a dislike ration of 97.33% (source: https://funkee.nl/diastats.php ). The cinematic trailer EU even has a 99.49% dislike ratio, that's gotta be a record of some sorts.

The skeptic in me says sure it was pulled. Emphasis on the word sure. They are just trying to back pedal and try to keep the negative slide from getting away from them. Even if this is true and it was pulled, it was still handled badly. But the update to this is that the Kotaku news has been debunked by Blizz saying they didn't pull the announcement and that they have no plans for any other announcements. Regardless of what's true and what isn't this game is not what fans, PC gaming fans who go to Blizzcon, were expecting.

They could have played a 5 second clip of the game or even of the opening theme and say, it's coming. Take a lesson from Bethesda and do what they did at E3 for Elder Scrolls 6. "It's coming. It's a couple years out. But we cannot say more at this time. We just wanted you to know we are working on it."

But they didn't do what Bethesda did. Instead they went with a mobile game which was the last thing fans expected. Fans were expecting Diablo 4. Or a World of Diablo mmo. Some of us would have been disappointed with the latter but not across the board like this. It's so puzzling as to why it was handled this way. Of course, we'll never know because the inner workings of a major corporation are not for public consumption. But regardless of that the PR hit is immense.

Carry on. Let's see what happens in the next few weeks. This isn't over, me thinks.